Peter W. Barca

Peter William Barca (born August 7, 1955) is an American Democratic politician from Kenosha, Wisconsin. He was the 14th secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (2019–2024) in the administration of Governor Tony Evers. He was a candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in Wisconsin's 1st congressional district in 2024 losing to incumbent Bryan Steil; he previously represented the district during the 103rd Congress (1993–1995).

Barca also served nine terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, covering the years 1985 through 1993 and 2009 through 2019, and was elected Democratic floor leader from 2011 through 2017. He represented the north side of the city of Kenosha and part of Somers. Between his stints in the Assembly, he also served as the Midwest Regional Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration during the presidency of Bill Clinton.

Early life Barca was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on August 7, 1955, and spent his entire youth in the Kenosha area. He graduated from Kenosha's Mary D. Bradford High School in 1973 and went on to earn his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1977.

After earning his bachelor's degree, he returned to Kenosha and started his career as a teacher for emotionally disturbed children and a team leader for students with special needs, Barca went on to become the director of the Friendship Camp, a camp for children with disabilities. He resigned from the office a year later to attend Harvard Graduate School. He ultimately returned to Wisconsin and completed his M.A. in public administration and educational administration from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1983. After returning to Kenosha, he was employed at the Kenosha Achievement Center and worked in job placement.

Career State legislature Barca made his first run for public office in 1984. That year, Kenosha's north side state representative, Joseph Andrea, announced that he would run for Wisconsin Senate that fall, creating an open seat in the recently redrawn 64th Assembly district. Barca was one of eight candidates who sought the Democratic nomination in that primary, including former county supervisor David Holtze, former city councilmember Gerald Bellow, former school board member Mark Lindas, former UAW local leader Frank Perone, and city police and fire commission member Marlene Mura. Barca prevailed over the divided field with 34% of the vote. At the time of the primary, Barca and others credited his victory to a strong campaign organization. Barca also acknowledged the popularity of his family name, due to his father's decades operating popular Kenosha restaurants. Barca went on to win the general election with nearly 80% of the vote in the heavily Democratic district.

Return to politics In November 2008, after a 14-year absence, Barca was elected to represent the 64th Assembly district once again. He was again chosen to be Majority Caucus Chairperson, and served as co-chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, and chair of the Partnership for a Stronger Economy.

As chair of the Partnership for a Stronger Economy, Barca traveled the state meeting with various small businesses owners and economic development professionals to craft an economic plan for Wisconsin. The Partnership led the way in helping to pass over 50 economic initiatives in the 2009–10 legislative session, including the Small Business Capital Access Program and the Entrepreneurial Assistance Grant Program, both authored by Barca. During this first session back in the Assembly, he also authored legislation to ban text messaging while driving in Wisconsin.

In the 2010 midterm elections, Republicans won complete control of government in Wisconsin. Following the election, Barca was elected by his colleagues to serve as Assembly Democratic Leader in the 100th Wisconsin Legislature. He rose to national prominence shortly after the start of that legislative term, as a leader in the opposition against new Governor Scott Walker's "budget repair" bill. Democrats derided the legislation as a historic rollback to union rights in Wisconsin, stripping public employee unions of their right to collective bargaining. The bill immediately resulted in mass protests on the Wisconsin State Capitol grounds, which ultimately lasted for nearly four months. In an attempt to slow down the bill, 14 state senate Democrats fled the state in order to deny a quorum to the state senate. Barca led the opposition in the Assembly, culminating in his coordination of a 60 hour floor debate in which members of the Democratic caucus highlighted their many complaints about the legislation. Barca then led Assembly Democrats in protesting the Republicans' alleged violation of open meetings laws after they stripped out budgetary items from the bill in order to bypass the quorum issue and pass the bill through the Senate.

He remained leader of the Democratic minority until September 2017. Officially, he resigned from leadership to focus more attention on his own constituency, but his resignation was also at least partly an acknowledgement of discontent within the caucus—particularly among new members of the legislature—over his support for the Foxconn in Wisconsin funding package.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Barca's Department of Revenue played an important role in facilitating business and farm loans in Wisconsin through the federal CARES Act, and informing the public about how to obtain federal financial support during the pandemic.

Barca and the Department of Revenue were also important to major bipartisan legislation advanced during the 2023 term, including the repeal of Wisconsin's unique personal property tax and the compromise which unlocked badly needed shared revenue for Wisconsin's county and municipal governments.

In the summer of 2023, Barca was named president of the board of trustees of the Federation of Tax Administrators, a national organization that provides research, training, and other support to state and local tax administrators.

On March 28, 2024, Barca announced he would resign as secretary of the Department of Revenue on April 9. At the same time, Barca also publicly expressed interest in running for Congress again in Wisconsin's 1st congressional district.

2024 campaign On April 18, 2024, Barca told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he plans to run for the 1st congressional district seat in 2024, challenging incumbent Bryan Steil. He announced his campaign later that day on twitter, then formally launched his campaign at the Apple Holler apple orchard in Racine County.

Personal life and family Barca is a son of Peter Barca and his wife Joyce ( Ashmus). The elder Peter Barca was an Italian American immigrant, who emigrated to Kenosha at age 18. After becoming established in Kenosha, he operated Barca Belting Co., a conveyor belt distributor, and then owned two popular Kenosha restaurants—the Maywood and the Flamingo.

Barca married Kathleen Mary Han from North Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in 1979. They still reside in Kenosha and have two adult children.

Electoral history Wisconsin Assembly (1984–1992)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality 1984 Primary Democratic 3,212 33.94% Dem. 1,898 20.06% 9,463 1,314 Dem. 1,32814.03% Dem. 1,110 11.73% Dem. 903 9.54% Dem. 471 4.98% Dem. 470 4.97% Dem. 71 0.75% General Democratic 14,745 78.43% Rep. 3,741 19.90% 18,801 11,004 Con. 315 1.68% 1986 General Democratic 9,439 82.20% Rep. 2,044 17.80% 11,483 7,395 1988 General Democratic 14,126 100.0% --unopposed-- 14,126 14,126 1990 General Democratic 7,389 74.20% Rep. 2,569 25.80% 9,958 4,820 1992 General Democratic 15,730 100.0% --unopposed--15,73015,730

U.S. House of Representatives (1993, 1994)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality 1993 General Republican 83,937 49.42% Dem. 82,817 48.76% 169,839 1,120 Lib. 3,085 1.82%

Wisconsin Assembly (2008–2018)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality 2008 Primary Democratic 3,134 74.51% Dem. 928 22.06% 4,206 2,206 Dem. 122 2.90% General Democratic 19,739 98.71% --unopposed-- 19,996 19,482 2010 General Democratic 9,667 84.17% Lib. 1,774 15.45% 11,485 7,893 2012 General Democratic 20,264 96.84% --unopposed-- 20,926 19,602 2014 General Democratic 13,887 95.54% 14,536 13,238 2016 General Democratic 18,799 97.67% 19,248 18,350 2018 General Democratic 16,773 78.32% Con. 4,441 20.74% 21,416 12,332

U.S. House of Representatives (2024)